The stage is all set for a historic cricket match between the Japan men’s cricket team and India men’s cricket team for a T20 International match. Ahead of the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, this match will mark 75 years of close relations between India and Japan.
While the Men in Blue is the reigning T20 World Champions, the Japan cricket team is ranked 41st in the ICC World T20I rankings for teams. Despite the clear differences between the two teams, the Japan cricket team vowed to throw the Shreyas Iyer-led team a strong challenge.
Japan is ready to challenge the Indian cricket team
Speaking on the ICC Digital, the home team’s all-rounder Benjamin Ito-Davis mentioned that he is super excited to go out on the field to face India, as it will be a great moment for them to show their true spirit against the best T20 team in the world.
“I can’t wait to just get out there, take on the challenge, and I’m really looking forward to it. To represent Japan on the global stage and promote cricket in Japan is something I’m really honoured and proud to do.”
“As a team, we want to show that we can compete against a team like India and show that Japan spirit, the Japan way, but also play fairly and respectfully,” all-rounder Benjamin Ito-Davis told ICC Digital.
The India vs Japan match can inspire many young talents
The match against Shreyas Iyer’s side is expected to leave a massive mark on Japanese sports. Cricket is not among the most popular games there, but it has the potential to grow more in the future. Benjamin Ito-Davis in the video further mentioned that if he gets the chance, he will try to inspire the young generation to play cricket, at least once in a lifetime.
“If I’m able to maybe inspire a Japanese kid to play cricket, boy or girl, to try cricket for the first time, that would be my greatest success story. A chance to promote the game even more (in Japan) is my goal,” he added.
Because of the rules of the Asian Games, the home team made multiple changes in the squad, leaving out some of their top talents ahead of the India match and the Games’ men’s cricket event.
Abhishek Anand, Esam Rahman, Abdul Samad and Sabaorish Ravichandran are the talents who are not in the team. Instead, there are Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, Makoto Taniyama and Wataru Miyauchi, who are tipped to stand tall for the national team.
Jake Kusuda-Nairn wants to take wickets for his sister
Young Japanese leg-spinning all-rounder Jake Kusuda-Nairn could make his international debut against the T20 World Cup champions. Ahead of his possible debut match for the national side, he mentioned his sister, Elena, who wants to see his brother thriving on the green field
“She (Elena) just told me to take everything in and enjoy myself out there. I’m just going to take it one ball at a time. A couple of wickets would be nice”, Jake told ICC Digital.
Source: cricketaddictor.com
